The Pirates are in a tough spot when it comes to interleague play. They have the worst interleague record in all of MLB. They play in the oddball 6-team NL Central, which always messes up the interleague scheduling. And the thing that seems to bother an awful lot of people: they are stuck without a natural rival.

That’s where Cleveland comes in. Shouldn’t the Pirates and Indians play every year? After all, they come from two similar, nearby cities that already have a storied rivalry in another sport (insert joke about the Browns being awful here). So to go along with Mets/Yankees, Dodgers/Angels, Cubs/White Sox Giants/A’s, etc etc (interleague matchups that are played every single year), shouldn’t we have Pirates/Indians?

We should, but the problem lies down the Ohio River in the Great American Ball Park. The Reds and Indians are the only two MLB teams in Ohio, so that matchup takes priority as Cleveland’s “natural rivalry.” Who knew the Indians were so coveted? (insert joke about everyone wanting to play the Indians because they stink here)

I actually do like interleague play as a whole. I know the purists hate it, and it creates some goofy circumstances, but during a 162 game season, we need a little variety. If there was no interleague, there would be no reason to eagerly look at the schedule as soon as it is released. It’s cool to see teams you never ordinarly get to see; how awesome was the Yankees series at PNC Park last year?

I do think MLB needs to get rid of the “natural rival” policy, though. For every exciting series involving two teams from the same city, there is a dud such as Reds/Blue Jays, or Orioles/Marlins. Would anyone really care if Florida and Tampa Bay didn’t play each other every year?

This is not a proposal designed just to accommodate the Pirates. Are there really that many good rivalries involving an AL and NL team that need to play each year? The amount of intrigue that a rivarly creates can be easily compensated for by sending a big-market club like the Yankees, Mets, Cubs, Red Sox, you-name ‘em, to a place they’re rarely seen. The excitement in Pittsburgh for the Yankees series last year added to the excitement in wherever the Mets played that week would combine to be just as good as the Subway Series, if not better.

Additionally, it would make interleague more fair, which would appease some of the purists. Every team in a division should have to play the same interleague opponents–which isn’t always the case anymore.

Back to Pirates-Indians. As much as I’d like for us to play Cleveland all the time, it doesn’t really have to happen. It’s clearly not a big draw anymore (maybe if one team was good it would be) and by reading [this silly article by DK] you can tell the matchup has lost its luster. The Bucs are pushing for this to become an annual series–but don’t count on it happening. Can you picture this scene in Pittsburgh anymore?

The capacity crowd went wild, with celebrations spilling into the streets of Downtown into that night, with Giles calling the atmosphere “like playing a soccer game in Italy.”